Clarke tennis sweeps SCC Tourney

KNOXVILLE — Clarke’s dominance of tennis in the South Central Conference continued here Monday, as both the boys and girls teams won the team titles.

The Clarke boys edged out Davis County for the team title, 20-18, thanks to an upset win by the doubles team of Colin Morris and Jared Jamison over top-seeded Damon Dixon and Austin Ermine of Davis County in the championship match.

The win gave the Indians their 14th conference championship in the past 17 years.

With Davis County leading the team scoring 18-17 heading into the doubles championship match, Morris and Jamison had to win in order to give the Indians the team title.

The junior combination, seeded second in the tournament, did just that, delivering an 11-9 win.

Morris and Jamison also picked up a 10-2 win over Colton Roberts and Clayton Hulsizer of Davis County after receiving a bye in the first round. In the semifinals, Morris and Jamison won 10-4 over Albia’s Christian Summers and Austin O’Leary.

The Clarke doubles team of Johannes Zehnter and Yahia Aly also reached the semifinal round, defeating Albia’s Vinny Belt and Noah Belt 11-9 in the second round after receiving a bye.

Zehnter and Aly fell to Dixon and Ermine in the semis, 10-3, before posting a 10-7 win over Summers and O’Leary in the third-place match.

Sophomore Ali Aly gave the Indians two points in singles play with an 11-9 win over Albia’s Skyler Hoover in the first round, before falling 10-3 to seconded-seeded Mike Runyan of Centerville.

Rodrigo Mayorga dropped a 10-7 match to Davis County’s Sam Johnson in the first round.

The Clarke boys team dropped to 5-3 for the season with an April 29 loss to Ballard.

Girls

Meanwhile, the Lady Indians picked up their fourth conference championship in a row Monday, easily rolling to the win with 33 team points. Davis County finished second with 15 points.

It was an all-Clarke final in the doubles tournament as the No. 1 Clarke team of Kylar McCann and Libby Bemis lost just one game in advancing to the finals, while the No. 2 Clarke team of Tracy Morgan and Cassidy Bierbrodt also cruised to the final.

McCann and Bemis defeated Morgan and Bierbrodt, 10-3, in the championship match, after winning 10-0 and 10-1 on their way to the finals.

Morgan and Bierbrodt, seeded third in the tournament, won 10-0 in the second round and then won 10-4 over second-seeded Lauren WIlliams and Brooke Bettis of Albia in the semifinal.

In singles competition, senior Kacey Klemesrud, seeded second in the tournament, won a close 10-7 match over Chariton’s Emily McRoberts in the championship match.

Klemesrud, who received a by in the first round, won 10-2 over Albia’s Brooke Showers in the second round and 10-5 over Davis County’s Deidra Budd in the semifinals.

Clarke was one match away from posting a perfect score for the second straight season at the SCC Tournament, as junior Macey Snell won her second round match 10-8 over Albia’s Mackenzie Billings before falling in the semifinals to McRoberts, 10-2.

The Clarke girls also improved to 8-0 on the season with a 9-0 win over Albia on April 29 and a 6-3 win over Ballard on April 30.